Cookery for one person

I recommend Nosh for One by Joy May, interesting, easy to prepare recipes. There’s a section on preparing 4 different meals from one piece of meat and advice on where else in the book to use up those little jars etc of flavourings and spices that so annoyingly go to waste when only one of you is cooking from a standard cookbook.
I don’t like batch cooking!
Available from their website and Amazon, maybe others.

Humbertbear

I wouldn’t cook for one - always cook for 2 or 4 and freeze the other portions. That said, if I was on my own I would probably live on jacket potatoes.

100% second this & also soup!! 🤩

I've just looked online at "Nosh for One" which EkwaNimitee recommends, it does look really good, will probably try it myself!

If you cook as if for two you can freeze a portion and have a meal ready for a night when you don’t feel like cooking to save on ready meals or takeaways

I simply took half the amount of meat and vegetables I had used for my husband and myself, when cooking for myself after he died.

Batch cooking is fine, but only if you clearly mark what goes in the freezer, and even when batch cooking I would advise scaling down the portions. Otherwise some will stay so long in the freezer that they will be less enjoyable when you do get round to eating them.

Jaxjacky

Delia Smith, One is Fun! Available online from various places.

I saw that book in a charity shop only this afternoon, priced at 99p

I do a little batch cooking but I also like Miguel Barclay’s ‘One Pound Meals’ (probably more than a pound now) recipes are for 1 person. Maybe borrow from the library first to see if you like his books. Check if they have other books for cooking for one. Enjoy.

BBC Good Food online recipes are very good.

Batch cook usually. I usually have fish twice a week buying from a local wholesale merchant I buy 4 salmon and 4 white of some sort fillets. Freeze them and just take out freezer usually about kunch time for evening meals. Just add veg or salad as I fancy. I do have a few ready meals in the freezer and buy these from Morrison as a lot of their ready meals can be microwaved from frozen, so good if a last minute choice. I am on my own.

Like most of the other posters, I batch cook whatever fishes I use. To do for the family and freeze the dishes in portions. As I don’t label the boxes and have usually forgotten what is in them, thawing and reheating is fun - lucky dip!
Don’t recommend frozen salads, better fresh.

Whenever I batch cook, I label the contents, with the date, so that I know what is in the containers. Not doing so would, indeed, result in wondering what on earth was in the container. You might end up defrosting a dessert rather than a main, otherwise 🤣.

Susie42

Now that I'm on my own I find I'm eating too many ready meals so can anyone recommend a cookery book with simple recipes for one person? I would prefer a UK book as I find american cup measements are not very accurate.

Thank you,

Delia smith for one is probably the best .
It is hard just cooking for one person I will admit after a lifetime. Delias recipes are easy to follow and are tasty as well

I go to my butchers and get my meat . They are used to people buy individual portions. . A favourite of mine is meatballs with pasta say 30g with pasta sauce . Any sauce left over I freeze using the ice cube tray. Another trick is a bag of frozen peppers/ onions so it adds extra flavour to the pasta sauce.

I make enough for at least two meals and have it the next day or freeze the rest. Bolognese sauce, cottage pie, fruit crumbles, etc.

Thanks justwokeup, freezer tape is a good tip. Writing the cooking instructions on it is clever too, it saves hunting for the packet when the tub comes out of the freezer three weeks later.

Just half or quarter the ingredients of any recipes. Or batch cook and freeze meals - then you have your own quick ready meals 🙂

On this theme could I ask for suggestins / advice for vegetarians? (including simple cook book if poss)
Thank you

Thank you all for your advice and suggestions. My freezer is not that big so batch cooking is not an answer.

A friend suggested an air fryer but they all seem far too big for my very small kitchen.

I have just received my copy of Delia Smiths book, from Amazon